New course record at 15th Dubai Holding SkyRun

A new course record was set by Piotr Lobodzinski of Poland, conquering 52 floors or 1,334 steps of the iconic Jumeirah Emirates Towers in 7 minutes and 9 seconds, an improvement of 9 seconds from his time (7 minutes and 18 seconds) in the same event last year.

Suzy Walsham also cut off 22 seconds from her time last year, recording 8 minutes and 16 seconds to complete the 15th edition of Dubai Holding SkyRun.

A record 400 runners kicked off the 2017 World Vertical Circuit conquering Dubai’s iconic Jumeirah Emirates Towers, scaling a distance of 265 metres. As the first leg of the 10-city global circuit, Dubai Holding SkyRun welcomed elite athletes, amateur competitors and fitness enthusiasts from around the world.

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Mordey becomes 1st to pass Masters in Sporting Directorship

Gareth Mordey, Managing Director at East Sport Management (ESM), has become the first person in the Middle East to have passed the Masters Degree in Sporting Directorship from Manchester Business School.

Leading the charge at UAE’s largest sports provider, Mordey completed the prestigious two-year course in Sport Directorship alongside experienced sporting personalities from across the world.

In an interview, Mordey said: “The Masters in Sports Directorship has been an incredible learning experience. The diverse methods of learning have enabled me to learn personally whilst in a group of amazingly experienced and visionary people. I have even put some of the learning straight into a live working Sports business that I run at ESM”

Mordey has been part of the UAE sports industry for over 12 years and currently his organisation provides courses across sports for over 27,000 young kids and works with more than 300 qualified coaches.

Talking about the benefit the UAE sports scene would have by having qualified sports directors, he said the role is very much an industry essential.

“I believe the new mind-set, with regard to this next generation of sporting leaders, will be seen throughout the Middle East. We’ve already seen, here in the UAE, how such sectors as aviation, banking, construction and education have risen to prominence due to the recruitment of credible, strong and effective leaders to compliment and help implement the extraordinary vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.”

Mordey’s performance in the Masters programme was applauded, earning high marks from Tony Faulkner, Co-Founder of Master in Sporting Directorship.

“The commitment Gareth has shown traveling from Dubai for the MSD has been admirable. His knowledge of business and insight to leading business operations in various regions of the world has added much valued learning to the other senior leaders on the course. Gareth will always be a pioneering member of the MSD and is now officially one of a small number of academically and professionally accredited sporting directors across the globe.”

“It has always been VSI’s vision to align leadership and business skills to credible individuals who can impact strategic leadership in sport and Gareth has evidenced if this is his chosen direction he possesses the character and skills to deliver with impact “

“Owners who have built up vast business empires, especially those who come from overseas may require someone to translate what we might call the ‘top table language’ into language understood by people in sport, and it’s a point which football is finally beginning to accept.”

“While I have enjoyed a healthy 15-year sporting career and many valuable experiences, I’m now confident in embracing a very competitive role in a hugely competitive industry.”

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Abu Dhabi Triathlon: Gomez's golden comeback

It was Gomez’s 13th career WTS win after almost a year break from the Series.

The five-time ITU World Champion looked as strong as ever, celebrating his 50th WTS race with the fastest time of the day.

“It is great to come back this way. I still had a few mistakes in the race, I did not swim very well and had a bad T2. But I knew that is was going to be a very tough run, and with Tom Bishop it was very technical,” the 33-year-old said.

“On the third lap we slowed down a lot, just trying to save energy for the last lap and I made my move with about three kilometres to go and I won, so it worked well. So, I am very happy to be back this way.”

The win also earned the Spaniard his 37th WTS podium with a career record equaling 13 wins, 17 seconds and seven third place finish.

Great Britain’s Tom Bishop claimed the silver medal, his first WTS medal of his career and becoming the sixth man in Great Britain’s history to ever do so.

The bronze went to France’s Vincent Luis, who made a comeback appearance today after not having raced the WTS circuit for nearly 15 months.

Bishop said of his performance: “I can’t believe it to be honest. I had a plan, I wanted to swim as best as I could, save as much energy on the bike. I wasn’t really sure how it was going to go because it was the first race of the season. I had a feeling that it might all come together when I found myself in the front group and there was a gap so I knew I had to work as hard as I could.”

The race was split early on, with a longer 900m swim loop helping to break up the bunch. Aurelien Raphael (FRA), Pierre Le Corre (FRA), Henri Schoeman (RSA) and Igor Polyanskiy (RUS) exited first, some top names such as Mario Mola (ESP) and Richard Murray (RSA) struggled in the second half of the field.

While not the fastest athletes in the water, Gomez and Luis were positioned perfectly only about 10 seconds behind.

The leading men made a swift break through the first transition and onto the bike, taking the first several laps to form a strong working group. By the third lap, a group of 10 men which included Gomez, Polyanskiy, Schoeman, Luis, Bishop Andrea Salvisberg (SUI), Marco Van Der Stel (BEL), Ben Kanute (USA), Leo Bergere (FRA), and Greg BIlllington (USA) finally put the hammer down, regularly maintaining 45 seconds over the chase.

Mola, Murray and Spaniard Fernando Alarza took turns leading the chase, but their gap only increased lap after lap. Heading into the second transition, the chase had over a minute to make up on the run.

Despite a slow second transition, Gomez quickly became the front-runner on the first lap. Schoeman, Luis and Bishop gunned it down the pavement alongside Gomez early in the four-lap run course. When Gomez tried to break off, only Bishop stuck with him stride for stride.

Although Bishop kicked ahead of the five-time World Champion, Gomez hit his stride as the bell rung out on the final lap. From there it was only a matter of keeping the pace, Gomez sailed ahead to the finish line for lucky number 13 WTS win.

The bell lap looked to drain Bishop of his energy, but the Brit managed to hold on for held on for second place. After a year plagued with injuries, Luis steadily ran his way to bronze.

Luis added: “It is awesome because I am back after 15 months outside of the WTS and it has been months since my last triathlon, so it is good. I have some nerve problems so that has taken me out a lot. But it is good to be back on the WTS, it is good to see Gomez back and see him winning again and I am just really happy to be back on the podium again.”